- Ansar Khan of MLive: Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill has indicated that Brad Richards will center their top line with Henrik Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader until Pavel Datsyuk is able to return. Datsyuk is expected to be ready anywhere from late October to early November.
- Chip Alexander: Tim Gleason, Jiri Tlusty and Bobby Sanguinetti skated again yesterday with the Hurricanes.
- William DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports: The Penguins tried to trade for Cody Franson last February and offered up Simon Despres to the Maple Leafs. The Pens showed some interest during the negotiating period before July 1st. They don’t have much cap space left, but a league source is saying the Penguins circled back to Franson in late July.
- Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly: Michal Neuvirth signed a two-year, $3.25 million contract with the Flyers back on July 1st, and it was mainly due to Jakub Voracek.
“I met Jake and we talked about things here and he said all good things about the Flyers,” Neuvirth recalled. “He wanted me to come here. I think it made him happy when I signed here. … He was the reason I signed here.”
The Oilers were one of the teams that were interested in Neuvirth before he signed with the Flyers. Neuvirth thought the Islanders were going to trade him at the draft.
“After a few trades and some moves, there were no more spots open for a No. 1,” Neuvirth said. “I had to change my mindset. I was hoping for the best fit. When I got the offer from the Flyers, I felt they were the right fit for me.
“They were one of the first teams that called me. There were a couple more teams, but Philly had the best offer and I felt this was best fit for me.”
- Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post: Evgeny Kuznetsov signed a two-year, $6 million bridge deal this offseason. He’ll be a RFA when it expires and he wouldn’t mind signing long term after.
“Every hockey player wants long term, right?” he said. “But I think my deal is perfect for both sides right now. If I play good, we sign a long deal, it’s not a big deal, but it’s all about time, you know? I have to show not only one season how I play, like half season, I have to play two more years like that. I want to stay here probably my whole career. Why not? My wife like it here, my parents like it, I like it. Good city. Good hockey team, all-around hockey.”
